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Connor Lumber and Land Company Store

Dec. 16, 2019 

Laona, Wisconsin — The Wisconsin Historical Society has announced the listing of the Connor Lumber and Land Company Store in Laona, Forest County, in the National Register of Historic Places.  National Register designation provides access to certain benefits, including qualification for grants and for rehabilitation income tax credits, while it does not restrict private property owners in the use of their property.

Built by a founding family of Laona, the Connor Lumber and Land Company Store served many important functions for the citizens of Laona. The building is historically significant for its association with the history of commerce in the community, having served as the general store, hardware store, pharmacy, soda fountain, furniture store, and mortuary. The building also served governmental functions for this small community and included a post office and U.S. Bureau of Indian Affairs office inside. In the early 20^th-century, the Laona library was also located on the second floor of the building. Located in the far northeast part of the state, this building, constructed in 1914, is an excellent example of a vernacular commercial building serving numerous functions and providing a wide range of services to a small community. In this case, most were employed in the logging industry, and this store had deep connections to the owners of one of the largest logging companies in the region, the Connor family. Commercial buildings such as this were often the heart of the downtown, providing goods and services and a vital link to the survival of the community.  

The register is the official national list of historic properties in America deemed worthy of preservation and is maintained by the National Park Service in the U.S. Department of the Interior. The Wisconsin Historical Society administers the program within Wisconsin. It includes sites, buildings, structures, objects and districts that are significant in national, state or local history, architecture, archaeology, engineering or culture.

To learn more about the State and National Register programs in Wisconsin, visit wisconsinhistory.org.

About the Wisconsin Historical Society
The Wisconsin Historical Society, founded in 1846, ranks as one of the largest, most active and most diversified state historical societies in the nation. As both a state agency and a private membership organization, its mission is to help people connect to the past by collecting, preserving and sharing stories. The Wisconsin Historical Society serves millions of people every year through a wide range of sites, programs and services. For more information, visit wisconsinhistory.org.